This invention relates generally to the field of jewelry stone assembly, and more particularly to a housing for setting a stone in jewelry.
In the past, stones have been mounted over precious metal by a skilled stone setter. As the watch industry grew, there was a need to assemble small diamonds over watch dials where the polishing and finishing of the setting needed to be done before the final assembly of the dial. In the 1960""s, the production of large quantities of costume jewelry, watches and precious jewelry required the use of semi-precious or precious stones and the industry adopted the use of preset stones.
There are primarily two different productions: a basic or classic production, and production utilizing components with preset stones, called settings. Assembly of a preset stone over costume jewelry, watches and jewelry is performed by different techniques including solder, rivet, thread, glue and precision fit.
Most recently there was introduced a split housing with a stone loosely inserted and having a tube with indentations. When pressed inside the jewelry hole the component closed the split and locked the stone in place. For costume jewelry this system is accepted, but for precious jewelry with precious stones, the split is not desirable. In addition, the hole in the jewelry requires precise tolerances be adhered to.
The precision fit, or press fit technique, is a well-suited technique because the component is practically nailed down over the jewelry. However, it is not practical, because the close tolerances required between the hole of the finished product and the tube of the component is too critical to be achieved. Accordingly, the press fit technique is not generally used.
A primary object of the invention is to provide a housing for setting a stone in jewelry that may fit into a wider range of products not requiring precision tolerances.
Another object of the invention is to provide a housing for setting a stone in jewelry without the need of solder, glue, thread or a rivet.
A further object of the invention is to provide a housing for setting a stone in jewelry that can be locked in place by any percussion action tool such as a simple hammer.
Still yet another object of the invention is to provide a housing for setting a stone in jewelry that can be fastened onto jewelry with different wall thickness.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a housing for setting a stone in jewelry comprises a lower tube portion of generally barrel shaped design, and an integral upper portion with a stone seat formed to match the shape of any desired stone.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.